Nexus Q no longer in stock on Google Play, 'shipping in 2-3 weeks'

Google's "social media streamer," the Nexus Q, looked to be approaching launch just a few days ago, with its Google Play Store listing being updated to "in stock", and apparently shipping in 3-5 days. Well, either the initial stock has entirely sold out, or a snag has been hit somewhere alone the way, as the Q has returned to its previous status of "ships soon," with the glowing multimedia orbs apparently expected to be ready to go in 2-3 weeks.

We ordered a few Nexus Q's to give away right as the device was announced, and none of our orders have shipped so far. If you've placed a Nexus Q order, let us know whether yours has been dispatched down in the comments.

Motorola Mobility brings the RAZR V XT885 to China

Motorola Mobility has announced that it's releasing the RAZR V XT885 in the Chinese market. Just a couple of weeks ago, the phone was announced for Canada, and now China represents the latest part of the rapid expansion for the RAZR line.

The RAZR V XT885 comes with a 4.3-inch screen, 1.2GHz dual-core processor, Android 4.0 (Ice Cream Sandwich), and is 8.35mm thin. It's also sporting on-screen buttons, similar to what's found on the new AT&T Atrix HD.

The Motorola RAZR V will be available throughout mainland China for RMB 3,298 (~$515). Check the full press release after the break for more details.

Best Samsung Galaxy S3 Cases

With so many different Samsung Galaxy S3 cases on the market, choosing the perfect one is paramount for protecting your device as well as complimenting your own unique style.

The Samsung Galaxy S III (S3) is still fresh from its launch just earlier this month and we're curious how you plan to protect your new investment. Does a basic skin case suit your daily needs or do you require something with a little more beef to it, say, a hard case? Let us know in the poll below then check past the break for some more insight on picking up the right case for your Samsung Galaxy S3.

Relive Google I/O 2012 in 3 minutes and 41 seconds

Google I/O 2012 was quite simply incredible. The sheer volume of content coming out of the Moscone Center was mindblowing, and we sure did our best to bring it all to you. Just think about what we saw, Jelly Bean, Google Glass, the Nexus 7, skydiving, and that's without diving into the developer sessions.

Should you have been at the conference and want to reminisce, or didn't go but wonder what it was like, Google has put together a short highlights video from this years conference. It weighs in at just under 4 minutes long, so when you're done, don't forget you can always dip back into our own Google I/O archive from this years event. While you're here, why not jump into the comments below and let us know what your own personal highlights were from the event.

Nexus 7 now available in Dubai

To say that there has been a little bit of hype around the Nexus 7 would be an understatement. People all around the world are loving it, and odds are you are looking to get your hands on one. The Nexus 7 is now available for those living in Dubai to purchase through Axiom Telecom, and even includes free shipping along with the tablet. Coming in with a price tag of AED 1,299.00 (~$350), it is a bit more expensive than its US counterpart, but import costs, taxes and exchange rates are likely behind the price rise. If you're thinking of picking one up, be sure to check out our full review of the Nexus 7, as well as what other users in the forums have to say.

Huawei unveils the Mediapad 7 Lite, exact specs a mystery

What we see here is the latest Android device to emerge from Huawei, the Mediapad 7 Lite. We'd love to be able to run through the full list of specifications, but as yet very little has been revealed about this tablet. From the press shots it appears to be running pretty much stock Ice Cream Sandwich, but otherwise it's a pretty mysterious device thus far.

What we do know about the device is that the 7-inch IPS display will be capable of full HD video playback. Additionally, the Mediapad 7 Lite will be a metal unibody construction, house a rear facing camera, and be capable of 3G cellular voice, SMS and MMS. 7-inch phone anybody? Otherwise, we know nothing of the processor, the RAM, on-board storage.

It looks really well designed, and packing cellular features could potentially make it a bit of a hit. We'll have to sit tight for the time being though, as there is no indication of launch date, price, or which markets will be seeing it.

Intel confirms it's working on Jelly Bean for Atom chips

In not particularly surprising, yet reassuring news, Intel has confirmed that they are indeed working on a port of Android 4.1 Jelly Bean for use on their Atom chips. While we're still waiting for Intel to really make headway in the Android space, working on Jelly Bean reaffirms that they're here for the long haul.

There was no timeframe provided, and we still haven't seen a timeframe for Ice Cream Sandwich either, but the following statement from a company spokesman confirmed the news.

Intel continues to work closely with Google to enable future versions of Android, including Jelly Bean, on our family of low power Atom processors

Currently, Intel devices are being pushed out carrying Android 2.3 Gingerbread -- such as the Orange San Diego -- which works superbly, but is still hideously outdated at this point in time. We're still waiting to see the partnership with Motorola take off, and even Vizio is supposed to be using Intel architecture in a forthcoming 10-inch tablet. Hopefully these two companies will at least launch with ICS on board -- else face a monstrous failure -- but to see that Intel is working towards catching up remains positive.

What we see here is a perfectly innocent Android game known as Retro Athletics. But, it didn't always go by that moniker. No, sadly it seems the world has officially gone mad, as the title had to be renamed for using the 'brand' of the Olympics summer sporting occasion taking place in the UK this year.

We're not going into politics, that's not why we're here. But, it's a pretty sad day when the Olympics summer sporting occasion taking place in the UK this year is deemed more as a brand to be infringed upon, than the global event it's meant to be. The point to note here is that should you have previously downloaded the title under its old name, it's probably a good idea to uninstall and download again from the Play Store. Seems that Google pulled the title completely, so should you want to benefit from any future updates you'll need to have this variant.

Google Nexus 7 available at Carphone Warehouse from Friday

Wanting to get your hands on the Google Nexus 7 in the UK, but come up empty-handed so far? Carphone Warehouse sends word that it'll be stocking the highly-anticipated (and highly-demanded) Jelly Bean tablet from this Friday, July 27. Carphone's only stocking the more expensive 16GB version, which retails for £199.99 in the UK. That's also the version that's currently sold out on Google Play, so if you want to get hold of a 16GB Nexus 7 in Old Blighty, this may be your best bet.

In addition to the option to buy an N7 outright, Carphone is also offering the ASUS-made tablet on a tethered contract, which includes a Mifi and an (undisclosed) data allowance. Normally we'd say you'd have to be a bit mad to pick up a tablet on-contract with a mobile operator, but if you're after a Mifi anyway, you could certainly do worse than picking yourself up a free Android 4.1 tablet in the process. Prices on the tethered contracts are said to start at £20.50 per month.

Check the full press release after the break, and make sure you read up on our full Nexus 7 review before parting with your cash.

LG Announces Q2 2012 Financial Results

LG just posted their Q2 2012 financial results, reporting a 46-percent year-over-year increase in net profits for the quarter. Although LG as a whole saw strong growth, the mobile division of the company didn't fare quite as well. Here's the breakdown.

Smartphone shipments lifted to 44-percent of unit sales, which is up 36-percent from Q1.

LG's mobile division is hoping to improve its position in the coming quarters by leveraging their strength in LTE phones. They plan to specifically target the expanding LTE markets in North America and Europe.

Samsung kills local search on international Galaxy S3 in 'stability' update

There's a new over-the-air update rolling out for the international Samsung Galaxy S III (aka Galaxy S3 GT-i9300) this evening. The OTA message identifies it as a "stability update," but what it also does is remove local (on-device) search functionality in the phone's built-in Google Search app. The new version -- XXBLG6 -- is a relatively recent build, having been cooked just a few days ago on Jul. 20. A new baseband version, XXLG6, is also included, but we haven't noticed any other changes thus far.

Following legal action by Apple, which temporarily resulted in the Galaxy Nexus being banned in the U.S., Samsung has taken to pre-emptively disabling the ability to search within on-device data (like contacts and applications) on some U.S. Galaxy S3's. However, the decision to kill local search on the unlocked international model -- which isn't sold in the U.S. -- is a little perplexing, not least because Apple has yet to challenge Sammy over local search in the EU or UK, where the GT-i9300 is sold.

What's more, marking this solely as a "stability" update seems a little underhanded, as users aren't being informed that the latest OTA disables functionality which was included with their original purchase. Nevertheless, local search is now gone on the international Galaxy S3, a decision which makes Samsung's leading smartphone a little less smart. We're sure folks are working on hacking local search back in as we speak, just as we're sure Apple will pursue some other tactic in its efforts to block the S3 from sale.

If you're down with preemptively crippled search functionality, you can grab the 27MB OTA package through Samsung's software updates menu on the phone, or through the Kies desktop app.

Disabling bloatware on the S3, Best pre-paid options? [From the Forums]

Just in case you missed out on some of the Android news today, now is the time to go ahead and get yourself fully caught up. Here on the blogs and in the Android Central Forums there is plenty to talk about. Have some questions? Need some help or just looking to chat Android? You know where to go, check out some of the threads below to get started.

How to: Use your USB flash drives with the Nexus 7 [root]

One of the few negative points with the Nexus 7 for some, is the lack of any sizable on-board storage. Indeed, looking at a couple of the latest big name game titles such as Max Payne or the Amazing Spider Man further compounds the frustration. With games going well in excess of 1GB -- and even approaching 2GB -- there isn't a great deal of room left for music and videos.

Make no mistake, we're not here to discuss the lack of microSD card. It is what it is. But, what we are here to discuss, is a way of using a USB mass storage device such as a flash drive, with your Nexus 7. Hit the break and have a look.

Apple's earnings call is a sign that the lawsuits can never stop

Apple had its quarterly earnings call today, and while looking through the news a thought hit. The financials are proof positive that the lawsuits against Android OEMs and partners can never stop. I'll admit that it sounds like I'm wearing a tinfoil hat, but if you read through the data you'll find one thing that can't be ignored -- Apple makes all of their money on mobile. Apple sells very few (relatively) laptops and desktops when compared to any of their competitors, sales of the iPod are waning, yet they keep making billions from the iPhone and iPad.

Don't be fooled by the images you see online, with rooms full of MacBooks. That's part of the tech bubble effect, and if you were to put 100 "real" people with a laptop in a room, 95 of them would be running Windows. Or 96 if you count Bootcamp. Apple surely enjoys a high profit margin on the OS X hardware they sell, but it's a niche product. That's unlikely to change in the near future. Apple's money and popularity comes from their mobile offerings -- even Steve thought so.

Back to the original thought here -- Apple can't let its hold on the mobile market slip away. Android may have a higher smartphone market share and are slowly creeping up in the tablet arena, but sales of the iPhone and iPad keep growing as well each quarter. Apple has to keep it that way, and they see how easy it would be to lose their spot in the hearts and minds of the public.

Google, and to a lesser (but not to be ignored) extent Microsoft, is slowly gaining ground on the content side. In the U.S., you can get books, magazines, movies, TV shows, music and applications for your Android products right from Google Play. It's really easy, your purchases instantly sync across multiple devices, and things are competitively priced. The real difference between Google Play and iTunes is in the content -- Apple just has more. As this gap grows smaller and smaller (and it will, Google wants your money bad enough to spend their money), there will be a point where new users will look at device features and capabilities for the deciding factor. Long-time users of either platform are less likely to switch over, as your content doesn't follow you from iOS to Android (or vice versa), but new users who aren't invested have a choice. At one point, iTunes was Apple's cash cow -- the amount and quality of the content was what many users used to make their purchasing decision -- but that will change. Even Apple can't keep Hollywood studios and music labels from wanting those Googlebucks, and eventually other countries will cave and licenses will be negotiated. It may cost Google everything it has in its war chest, but it will happen.

When the content is equal, and users look at what the device they are going to spend $700 on, features and ease-of-use become the deciding factor. Folks on the Internet will argue mindlessly about lag or quibble over pixels, but the general public sees things like widgets and pop-up video players on big screens and they are impressed. Fanboy arguments aside, looking at a Galaxy S III beside an iPhone 4S, the iOS simplistic beauty is lost on many consumers. Lost to giant weather widgets and saturated 4.8-inch SAMOLED screens. The more features Apple can have stripped away from Android devices, the better the iPhone and iPad look -- and operate.

We hate (as in hate) the smartphone wars and software patent mess that goes on across the global courts. We would love to see innovators battle each other only with innovation, because we all win with awesome new features on both platforms. But that's just never going to happen. Apple can't let it happen, and when the "next big thing" comes along to take on Android (and it will) Google can't let it happen. Money makes the world go 'round.

Gameloft unveils five new free-to-play casual games for Android

Gameloft has announced that they will be expanding their Let's Play brand with five more games launching this summer on Google Play. Let's Play is geared towards casual mobile gamers in a free-to-play (read IAP-heavy) format. The new games will be:

Cosmic Colony: The action unfolds on a mysterious planet where players must create and organize their colony and make it prosper. Surprising events and space missions await players of all ages as they become space pioneers.